It may have happened late last month, but it's still something worth discussing: how 9 judges were charged with traffic ticket fixing in Philly.

According to ABC News, a "widespread culture of giving breaks on traffic citations" persisted in the city, federal prosecutors alleged, though everyday citizens were out of luck. Only the well-connected got breaks.

Defense attorneys suggested that the judges made no money from the favors and that the court has worked that way for a century.

The defendants include six current and former Philadelphia traffic court judges and three suburban judges who had stints at the court. Among them is former Traffic Court Judge Willie Singletary, who had been kicked out of office for showing cellphone photos of his genitals to a female clerk. A court clerk and two businessmen also were charged.

"It has historically been a terribly troubled place," he told The Associated Press.

The state's Judicial Conduct Board moved quickly to suspend the judges without pay, pending the outcomes of their cases. Traffic court judges, who are not required to be lawyers, make about $91,000 per year.

Philadelphia ward leaders and Democratic City Committee associates, along with family and friends, regularly contacted the judges to seek help with traffic tickets. Judges would trade favors if the case wasn't assigned to them and would either dismiss or reduce the ticket, helping people avoid steep fines and points on their licenses, authorities charged.

The judges and their staffs took steps to hide the system of "consideration" by shredding paperwork, speaking in code and keeping a tight circle, according to court papers.

"A well-understood conspiracy of silence fell over the system and its participants," the indictment said.

The scheme kept unsafe drivers on the road and deprived the city and state of revenues, U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger said.

Defense lawyers said their clients never took a dime, and simply did things the way they've been done for decades — and the way they were trained to do.

"It's been my experience that any little old lady in the suburbs ... can walk in to her local magistrate judge, and expect to get a reduction in her charge," said Singletary's lawyer, William J. Brennan. "I don't think that's fraud. It's just kind of the way it works."

The 77-count indictment noted that Singletary had openly campaigned on a promise that he would do favors for supporters.

"There's going to be a basket going around because I'm running for traffic court judge, right, and I need some money," the indictment quoted Singletary as saying at a 2007 motorcycle club meeting. "I got some stuff that I got to do, but if you all can give me twenty dollars you're going to need me in traffic court, am I right about that? ... Now you all want me to get there, you're all going to need my hook-up, right?"

The indictment also charges Singletary with lying to the FBI and three judges with lying to the grand jury.

[sighs] Another example of the corruption of power. Apparently, a decent wage and position aren't enough. How many average Americans make $91K a year? And haven't we had enough of sending pictures of body parts to co-workers?Absolute power corrupts absolutely. :(

It's a good start, now let's go after the politicians who have promised favors in return for support and are compromising the integrity of our country for the benefit of their cronies who hold the purse strings!

Why is it that more people in office, and in the judicial arena, appear to be more corrupt. Is it that we have more means of getting the message out that this is now considered norm? What a thing to bring up children in this world, where arrogance and the entitlement attitude is now the norm.